Come Around Sundown World Tour


The Come Around Sundown World Tour was the second concert tour by American rock band Kings of Leon. Visiting the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia, the tour supported the band's fifth studio album, Come Around Sundown. The tour has been praised by both critics and spectators alike, with many dates selling out within minutes. The concerts held in North America grossed over 14 million dollars, becoming the 49th highest-grossing North American tour. The tour ranked 40th in Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour ", earning roughly 20 million dollars in 2011.

Background

After finishing their previous tour, the band began working on their fifth studio album. In a 2009 interview with Billboard, frontman Caleb Followill stated the album would have a similar sound to their debut album, with a chill vibe. After the announcement of the album, the band later announced they would be a headlining act at the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. The tour was officially announced via the band's official website in April 2010. The album was not due for release until October 2010 and the band was hesitant to showcase the new music to the public. However, they all felt that their fans did not want a continuation of their last tour. They further elaborated,
"I think if we were to go out there, play a concert right now and not play some new music, it would feel like we had our hands tied and I think we would be bored with the show. We didn't want to go back out there and give them 'Only By the Night Tour' Part 2. It's inspiring to us to be able to go out there and play a new song.... If we were going out there and not playing these songs, I don't think that we would have the spark and the smile on our face that we do at this point."

The tour proved to be successful in all regions, especially in Europe where the band sold out concerts within minutes and embarked on their first stadium tour in the region. However, the tour faced a few hiccups along the way. The tour made media headlines in July 2010 when the band cancelled a concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Maryland Heights, Missouri after experiencing substantial amounts of fecal matter from pigeons. Additional headlines were when the band's tour bus caught on fire at the loading dock for The O2 Arena in London, England. The Australian leg of the tour has been postponed until November 2011 to allow drummer Nathan Followill to recover after surgery for a torn right labrum and biceps.

Opening acts

Tour dates

;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
;Cancellations and rescheduled shows
June 8, 2010ScrantonToyota Pavilion at Montage MountainCancelled
July 23, 2010Maryland HeightsVerizon Wireless AmphitheaterCancelled after performing three songs
September 7, 2010BurgettstownFirst Niagara PavilionCancelled
September 8, 2010HersheyHersheypark StadiumCancelled
November 18, 2010East RutherfordIzod CenterCancelled
December 21, 2010LondonThe O2 ArenaPostponed then later rescheduled to June 20, 2011
March 8, 2011BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment CentrePostponed then later rescheduled to November 8, 2011
March 10, 2011SydneyAcer ArenaPostponed then later rescheduled to November 5, 2011
March 11, 2011SydneyAcer ArenaPostponed then later rescheduled to November 6, 2011
March 13, 2011AdelaideAdelaide Entertainment CentrePostponed then later rescheduled to November 11, 2011
March 17, 2011MelbourneRod Laver ArenaPostponed then later rescheduled to November 13, 2011
March 18, 2011MelbourneRod Laver ArenaPostponed then later rescheduled to November 14, 2011
March 21, 2011Perthnib StadiumPostponed then later rescheduled to November 19, 2011
March 24, 2011Cape TownCape Town StadiumPostponed then later rescheduled to October 26, 2011
March 27, 2011JohannesburgFNB StadiumPostponed then later rescheduled to October 29, 2011
July 29, 2011DallasSuperpages.com CenterCancelled mid show
July 30, 2011The WoodlandsCynthia Woods Mitchell PavilionCancelled
August 2, 2011Tampa1-800-ASK-GARY AmphitheatreCancelled
August 3, 2011West Palm BeachCruzan AmphitheatreCancelled
August 5, 2011CharlotteVerizon Wireless AmhitheatreCancelled
August 6, 2011Virginia BeachVirginia Beach AmphitheaterCancelled
August 9, 2011BristowJiffy Lube LiveCancelled
August 10, 2011WantaghNikon at Jones Beach TheatreCancelled
August 12, 2011CamdenSusquehanna Bank CentreCancelled
August 13, 2011HartfordComcast TheatreCancelled
August 16, 2011DarienDarien Lake Performing Arts CenterCancelled
August 17, 2011Holmden TownshipPNC Bank Arts CenterCancelled
August 19, 2011MansfieldComcast CenterCancelled
August 20, 2011Saratoga SpringsSaratoga Performing Arts CenterCancelled
August 23, 2011ClarkstonDTE Energy Music TheatreCancelled
August 24, 2011CincinnatiRiverbend Music CenterCancelled
August 26, 2011Tinley ParkFirst Midwest Bank AmphitheatreCancelled
August 27, 2011NoblesvilleVerizon Wireless Music CenterCancelled
August 29, 2011Bonner SpringsCapitol Federal ParkCancelled
August 31, 2011MorrisonRed Rocks AmphitheatreCancelled
September 1, 2011MorrisonRed Rocks AmphitheatreCancelled
September 3, 2011Las VegasMandalay Bay Events CenterCancelled
September 4, 2011Chula VistaCricket Wireless AmphitheatreCancelled
September 6, 2011PhoenixAshley Furniture HomeStore PavilionCancelled
September 8, 2011IrvineVerizon Wireless AmphitheatreCancelled
September 10, 2011Mountain ViewShoreline AmphitheatreCancelled
September 12, 2011SeattleCancelled-

Box office score data

;Notes

Critical reception

Kevin Courtney praised the performance at The O2 stating the band was ready to play stadiums. He further remarked, " this was a southern rock version of U2, delivering big anthems with a twang, and lassoing the audience with well-aimed riffs and chant-along choruses". On the contrary, Ed Power gave the same concert two out of five stars stating, "Today, any whiff of the exotic is thoroughly dissipated. Shrugging off last summer's Spinal Tap-like 'pigeongate' debacle Kings of Leon came to Dublin in the straightforward guise of stadium-filling mega-band".
David Dunn stated the band was very lucky after viewing the concert at the Motorpoint Arena. He continued to write " and their many other musical lightning strikes is the same: glee, euphoria, unwavering adoration". James Watkins thought highly of the performance at the National Indoor Arena. He wrote, "Highlight of the night was the spine-tingling and epic Pyro, that saw mobile phones held in the air to light up the whole arena in a 4-minute moment of pure magic".